A penny for your thoughts #6 (quote from The Immortal by Jorge Luis Borges)

Words touch us all in different ways. Sometimes the original intent of a quote resonates so profoundly with us that it is hard to believe that another wrote it. Other times it is a single word, peculiar phrasing, or an alternative meaning regarding an event in our lives that resonates the most. I believe in the power of starting the day (and week) off with a positive thought -- and so was created A Penny For Your Thoughts. This is a weekly blog hop that will feature quotes of all kinds; classics, character, book-movie, personal, etc. The themes will range from funny to serious, but really it all depends on how you interpret it! How does this work?

1. Every Sunday a quote will be posted
2. Post your thoughts on your blog and/or the comment section of a participating blog. You only get the penny for one or the other. You can do both but it doesn't count twice.
3. Those with posts can join up on the Linky - Linky will not be active until day of post
4. Collect the pennies! Every week there will be a new penny to collect and include with your post.
5. RAFFLE ENTRY: Your site or comment needs to be submitted to this form as well so that your name can be uploaded to a raffle generator. If you're using a comment as a submission instead of a post, then put name of site where you left the comment in the "direct link" section.
6. On the last Saturday of every month the entries from the form above will be entered in a drawing. Winner will be notified on Sunday. You get as many entries as you have pennies for the month. Prizes will include books, gift cards, site promotion, and other bookish winnings!
7. Have fun! This is a fun way to start some discussion, discover blogs, and get to know more people. Please re-post these steps so that followers understand the process.

There is nothing very remarkable about being immortal; with the
exception of mankind, all creatures are immortal, for they know nothing
of death. What is divine, terrible, and incomprehensible is to know
oneself immortal.
- Jorge Luis Borges, The Immortal

My thoughts...

I really like the idea of this quote rather than the words themselves (I don't agree that animals excluding humans do not understand death or loss, but that's taking the quote more literal than I think its intended purpose was). Mankind is arguably the most powerful being known. If you take into consideration the amount of biological technology that we have these days, it makes you wonder how long before immortality -- or at least much longer life times -- will be reached. Because we are higher beings who can think about the concept of immortality it seems like the greatest of all goals to us. But really, what is so great about living forever? If you live each day as if it were your last, then you'd be living in the moment and pleasing yourself just as lower intelligence animals do. I think you could achieve the same amount of happiness in one year of living in the moment than you could in 20 years of "immortal living". Because who's to say the excuse of immortals won't be I'll do it tomorrow just as many of us do now...

Collect the penny and share your thoughts! (worth 1 entry)

www.thebookcove.com

Next week's quote: 

“Then you compared a woman's love to Hell,
To barren land where water will not dwell,
And you compared it to a quenchless fire,
The more it burns the more is its desire
To burn up everything that burnt can be.
You say that just as worms destroy a tree
A wife destroys her husband and contrives,
As husbands know, the ruin of their lives. ”
― Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales

Other Posts Of Interest:

Remember to check your follow links regularly - by Jessi - November 22nd, 2014
5 easy tips for making your blog more user friendly for blog hops - By Jessi - December 27th, 2013
CAPTCHA challenge presented by The Book Wheel and The Relentless Reader - By Jessi - August 16th, 2013